Writing Workshop – EMAA

Eagle Mountain Arts Alliance (EMAA) held their Writing Workshop in Eagle Mountain on September 9, 2017. The event was held at Black Ridge Elementary School. The event hosted 70 writers from around Utah and several out of state attendees (Arizona, and Idaho). The event had 21 different classes the attendees could participate in. Those classes were taught by 18 different instructors from authors just starting out, to authors who have sold best selling novels. The classes were designed to help writers improve on their writing skills as well as ways get their works published. The writing skills classes included tips on writing romance, comedy, and historical fiction, as well as how to use technology, magic, character names, and unwritten words to increase a readers engagement. There were also classes on how to get your work published, what editors are looking for, how to use some of the software tools designed for writers, how to market your works, and general advise. As an aspiring journalist, I attended the event. I did learn some valuable insights into the writing world. I learned that there are a lot of very talented writers out there, but there are a lot of variables that can influence how those writers works are accepted by readers. You can have a very well written novel, but if it is not published, marketed, and edited correctly it may not be presented to the readers who would enjoy reading it. Writers are a close knit group of people, they have a passion for what they do, and they enjoy writing. They like to talk about what they are working on. I also found that it is very important for a writer to be a member of a peer group that can review their works during the writing process. It is also important that that writing group consists of writers that are writing in the same category that you are writing in. The event also included a writing and illustration contest. The contest was broken out into age groups, and winners were selected in each of the age groups. Writing Contest Winners Overall – Tiffany Chandler 1st – Sara Cluff 2nd – Sarah Heller 3rd – Chris Jones 11/12 1st – Alayna C Lopez 2nd – Alexis Fulkerson 9/10 1st – Hannah Anderson 2nd – Becca Scanlon 3rd – Matthew Draper 7/8 1st – Evelyn Lopez 2nd – Emily Cannon 3rd – Katie Ottesen Illustration Contest Winners 1st – Rachelle Hardy 11/12 1st – Zoe Clair 9/10 1st – Emily Clair 2nd – Sabrina Heller 1/2 1st – Jason Hearn pre-K 1st – Riley Hardy

Additional Resources

EMAA Facebook Page